


Fix The Damage That Was Done

by i_write_and_i_know_things



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Ned Leeds, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, also explicit language warning, tags might change!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-16 03:46:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19309978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_and_i_know_things/pseuds/i_write_and_i_know_things
Summary: HYDRA was never destroyed. It lives on through it's newest experiment, PLAGUE, a group of six Programmed Lethal Assassins for Guided Use of Extermination. With the Avengers split and weakened, there could not be a more perfect time to strike; and they have their eyes set on a certain friendly neighborhood web-slinger.On Peter's side, he struggles to escape the grasp of PLAGUE; but, whatever they have their eyes set on they get, and soon Peter is captured and put through torment and pain. However, he is not alone and finds escape through an unlikely source.Back in New York, Tony must let go of his past and work alongside Steve, Bucky, and Natasha to save Peter and rip out HYDRA root and stem, once and for all.But, after all, the past is never really gone.





	1. Red

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is more of an "introduction" or kind of like a prologue, set a few years before the events of Homecoming. Everything will be revealed as the story progresses, so I'm not going to give out any more information ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

It was cold.

That was the first thing the boy felt when he woke up. He breathed in and shivered, feeling the hairs rise on his arms. A white light shone above him, making him squint his eyes against it. His head pounded and his body was stiff, and he couldn’t remember anything. The memories were blurred, floating around his head like algae, and no matter how hard he strained he couldn’t piece any of them together.

Groaning, the boy tried to move his arm. A tight pain engulfed him, and looking down he realized he was strapped to a metal table. Two leather straps pulled tightly, digging into his skin, one by his bicep and the other around his wrist. He turned his head groggily, looking at his other arm; same setup. His legs were bound too, stronger than his arms. The boy tried struggling again, but the leather wouldn’t budge no matter how much strength he used. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he laid his head back down against the cool metal.

He strained again, trying to think how he got here. This place was so… _strange_. It felt bad. He didn’t like it, and an uncomfortable feeling began building up in his chest. Mama would never send him here. Where _was_ she? Would she come back for him? The boy shut his eyes tightly, flexing his fingers.

 _She wouldn’t leave me here, she’s probably somewhere waiting for me…_ The boy thought to himself, trying to swallow back the fear of being abandoned.

But the fear grew. Even though he remembered he had a mother, he couldn’t remember what she looked like. Or what her name was. Or what _his_ name was. He was scared and wanted to cry, but a part of his mind was holding him back. Somehow he knew he should stay quiet.

A small whimper jolted him out of his thoughts. He turned his head and gasped. A girl who looked about his age was lying next to him on another metal slate. Her arms and legs were bound as well, and she was wriggling, trying to break free. Her cries grew louder. The boy strained his neck, noticing movement behind her. _Another_ boy was strapped down next to her, shaking.

He swallowed, dryness coating his mouth and throat.

The boy turned his head to the other side, eyes widening. There were two more girls and one more boy lying next to him. All of them were beginning to stir, and the boy was violently pulling at the straps. Not wanting to look at them anymore he rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling.

 _Why are we all here?_ He thought, feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall. The boy wouldn’t allow them, though, choking back his sobs. Somehow he remembered to not cry when in danger, but rather try looking for a way out. He silently hoped that was a lesson his Mama taught him.

Blinking against the light, he strained to look for anything that would help him and the other kids, escape. Metal pipes lined the walls, but other than that there was nothing, not even a window. Sliding his hand against the cool metal, he noticed that on the far side of the room there was a door. It blended in with the wall, but he could make out the outline and a small, white door knob. A spark of hope flared in him, and he began to pull on his straps again. Keeping his eyes fixed on the door, he pulled harder, only to recoil in pain as the leather burned into his skin.

Then, the camouflaged door opened and two men walked in. One of them was wearing a long, white lab coat and was carrying a small clipboard. The man behind him was carrying a large, metal briefcase. The man carrying the briefcase closed the door behind him with his boot and stopped, looking in disgust at the kids in front of him.

For a moment, the boy thought they were saved and that these men would free them. A few of the kids started crying loudly, and a few others were staring in shock. The two men in front growled and the one holding the clipboard slammed it against the wall and yelled.

“SILENCE!”

That was when the boy knew these men were not there to help them.

The room fell silent as every kid stared in horror at the men in front of them. Some held back whimpers of fear, while others were breathing hard with wide eyes. The man with the clipboard grunted and pulled down his glasses, resting them at the bottom of his nose. He wrote a few things down on his clipboard and turned to his partner, telling him something in a low voice. The boy swallowed again, fear welling in his throat; but he stared at the men, watching their next moves intently.

The man with the briefcase nodded, letting it hang loosely next to his side. Together they walked up to the first boy, who although was trembling with fear, had determination in his eyes. The man in the white coat bent down and inspected the straps. They were slightly worn, and the boys arm was red and bleeding where he struggled against it. The man looked down at his clipboard, marking a few things and handing the other man a piece of paper.

“RS8264, Defense.” The words echoed throughout the room and hung dangerously in the air like a vulture. The man took out his own pen and scribbled down the information on his piece of paper.

The man in the lab coat moved over to the next slate. A small girl laid on it, her legs trembling and tears streaming down her face, soaking into her shirt. She let out a weak cry and asked where her dad was. The man didn’t answer and looked at her face, examining it. He also examined the straps along her arms and legs, which weren’t worn down at all. He grunted and turned back to his clipboard, writing down more things and checking off a box.

“AN7349, Watcher.”

He stepped over to the next slate and barely took a glance before quickly scribbling down more things. The boy’s heart began to thump in his ear and he strained his head to look at what was on the clipboard. He made out a few words, but one stood out to him the most: PLAGUE. It was printed on the top of the page, bold and underlined. Below it were a few other words, but he couldn’t make them out as the man turned around to face him.

“FD3852, Defense.”

The boy’s heart was pounding hard against his chest, but he kept his eyes fixed on the man. He tried to level his breathing, but despite his efforts his chest shook every time he took a breath.

The man bent forward, looking at the boy’s arms and legs. The boy rolled his fingers into his palm and clenched them, making a fist. The man’s eyes darted down quickly, and something flashed in his eyes that the boy couldn’t understand. He took his pen in his hand and held it in front of the boy’s face, moving it side to side. The boy followed it with his eyes, watching as it quivered above his mouth. Then, the pen dropped. Reacting quickly, the boy caught the pen between his teeth, biting down hard. The man grunted and took his pen back, wiping it on his lab coat and marking something down on his clipboard. The boy swallowed.

“DM1559, Sniper.”

 _DM1559…_ _DM1559…_

The boy repeated the strange word in his head over and over. So that was his name. DM1559. It was long, but if that’s the name his Mama gave him, he liked it.

The last girl and boy were called IA2845 and HM8319, and they were both sorted in something called the ‘Offense’. DM1559 wasn’t sure what that meant, or what Sniper meant either; neither of them sounded good.

Clicking the end of his pen, the man in the white lab coat turned to his partner and motioned with his head towards the briefcase. The other man nodded and brought it over, propping it on his knee to open it.

With two flicks of the latches the briefcase snapped open. DM1559 suddenly got a sick feeling to his stomach when he saw what was inside.

There were strange tools that looked like tweezers, needles, scalpels, and clips; tools that DM1559 had never seen before. They made him uncomfortable. But what really made him worried were six neatly placed objects in the middle of the case. They were small and almond-shaped, red, and had a lot of thin connecting wire to them.

His heart started pounding.

The man in the white lab coat picked up one of the almond shapes and unrolled the wires. His helper put on a pair of rubber gloves and took out some tweezers, clips, and a scalpel. Then they both turned to DM1559. His heart was starting to beat wildly and irregularly. They stepped up towards him and the man in the lab coat said something in a strange language, motioning to the other man. He nodded and reached towards DM1559’s face.

The poor boy wanted to scream, and he began to wriggle as the man began to pry open his right eye. The cold air suddenly stung him and two metal clips were attached to his gentle skin. No matter how hard he tried to close his eye, they were clamped firmly. The panic rose and began to surge through his lungs, making it hard to breathe.

The man in the lab coat got close too, staring into DM1559’s eye. He brought the almond-shaped thing out, moving the wires to the side. He blew DM1559’s tears away with a sharp breath and pushed the thing over his eye. He yelped and struggled but was held down firmly by the other man.

His head began to spin with pain and all he could see was red. Red walls, red ceiling, red light. There was a sharp prick in the side of his neck and suddenly the whole room got quiet and hollow. The men’s faces were becoming blurred, but he could still see and feel everything; especially the excruciating pain he felt behind his ear as a sharp object dug into his skin.

As the man began pulling at the wires, DM1559 noticed a red octopus with a skull embellished on the man’s coat. Groggily, his mind searched for what the symbol could mean… he’d definitely seen it somewhere.

Before he could figure it out, his head rolled back against the cold metal and everything went black.


	2. Blank Records

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter encounters someone who appears to be more than just a thief, and his Spider-Sense tells him so.

“Hey, get back here!”

Peter lifted his hand and sent out a web, swinging himself to the next building. He was gaining on a man who snatched a purse from a woman’s hand, almost dragging her with it. The man clutched the purse to his chest and weaved from between the lamp posts on the street, moving with incredible speed. He was wearing all black and a scarf covered the bottom half of his face.

“You’re just making this harder on yourself!” Peter yelled again, sending out more webs to move faster. “Give up now and I won’t have to web you to one of those lamp posts!”

The man didn’t listen, and instead turned sharply into an alley. The change in course was so sudden that Peter almost slammed into a wall. Reacting quickly he managed to catch himself and swung in after the man. He strained his eyes against the darkness, and the fact that the sun was setting wasn’t helping the situation. 

“Uh, Karen?” he asked his AI.

“Yes?”   


“Does this suit have any enhanced night vision or something?”

A screen flashed in front of his eyes and everything became clearer -- almost  _ too _ clear as Peter had to duck his head down to avoid it being caught on a pair of pants hanging on a clothesline.

“Is this good?” his AI asked as more labels flashed before Peter’s eyes.

“Yes, that’s perfect. Can you track the thief's route, too?”

“Certainly.”   


Another screen showed up in front of him with a map of the city and a small, red dot blinking on it. The man had gotten out of the alley and was heading towards the outskirts of the city. Peter felt his heart race at how far the man had gotten, and how fast he was moving. He suspected the man must’ve gotten into a car. Peter let out a web and swung around the corner, webbing to a nearby lamp post. 

Below him was a man pacing angrily and cursing on his phone. Peter swung by and caught a few words.

“--that, that fucker- Hey!” he yelled, suddenly turning to Peter. “Hey! Spider-Man! My car just got stolen by some lunatic in a black mask!”

“On it!” Peter yelled back, nodding to the man and swinging to the next rooftop. He looked at the map and noticed that the man took a turn and began driving towards an abandoned area. A tingly feeling ran down his spine and he felt the hairs rise on his arms.

_ That can’t be a good sign…  _

“Hey, Karen?” He asked cautiously. “One more thing.”   


“Yes?” the AI asked, switching back on.

“Calculate the shortest route to this guy and tell me about the area he’s heading to.”

A green line flashed on the map and Peter began swinging towards it, listening while his AI talked.

“He appears to be heading to an abandoned factory or somewhere in that area,” Karen said. “He’s gone an awfully long way for just a purse, though. Don’t you think that’s odd, Peter?”

Peter swallowed under his mask and agreed.

“Yeah. I don’t have the greatest feeling about this. But, it’s me against him, and I’m the one with all the high-tech stuff.”   


_ I hope…  _ he thought the last part to himself. So far the man hadn’t made any moves against him.

Biting back the fear that began to cloud his head, he focused on getting this man webbed up and handed over to the police. Then he could go home, finish his homework, watch YouTube and relax. 

He passed a few tattered-looking buildings with holes in their roofs and broken windows. Trying to avoid latching onto anything unstable, he slowed down and took more calculated throws. The tingly feeling continued to raise the hair on his arms, and he was growing more unsure of himself; but he kept going. If he made it this far, it would be embarrassing to turn back now. And he couldn’t come back empty handed, or else this elaborate chase would’ve been for nothing.

Peter used his advanced hearing to listen for any out of the ordinary thief noises. He heard the screeching brakes of a car and a car door slamming. He must be close now. A quick glance at the map confirmed the man was right around the corner near an old, abandoned factory. 

Peter took a sharp swing and leaped onto the roof of the car just as the man was ready to run into the building.

Peter shot a web at his legs, bringing him down with a hard thud. The purse fell out of the man’s hands and tumbled a few feet away from him. He began struggling, trying to wriggle his way out of the webs but Peter was faster. He threw a few more webs at his legs, sticking him to the ground. 

The man let out a groan of frustration and whipped around, a cold look sparking in his eyes. 

Fear shot through Peter and he quickly aimed a web at the purse. A part of it caught against the scarf of the thief, pulling it off just as the web attached itself to the purse. 

Peter could finally make out the thief's face, and for a moment he felt sick to the stomach.

The man’s face was filled with scars trailing down the eye, cheek, and neck. But what was worse was that this man wasn’t even an adult; he looked to be a teenager, around Peter’s age. 

Suddenly, before Peter could react, the boy whipped out a knife from the side of his belt and cut himself free, grabbing the scarf and running into the building. Peter ran in after him, yelling out in shock. He burst into the building and prepared to shoot another web.

But the boy was nowhere to be found, and the room was quiet. It was filled with rubble and fallen tiles of roof. Peter looked around at the walls, the ceiling…  _ nothing _ . 

_ No… that’s not possible…  _ Peter thought to himself, cautiously lowering his arm.  _ There’s no way he got away, I saw him run into here! He couldn’t have just disappeared… could he? _

Peter swallowed and backed out of the building, tense against the eerie silence. Once he felt the wind against his suit he turned around and ran, grabbing the purse and swinging up onto a nearby building. He hated to admit it but as he sat there, clutching the purse, he was shaking from fear.

“Karen?” he managed to whisper out, eyes still glued to the run-down factory. “Call the police and report to them a stolen car at… whatever this location is.”

“Of course.” There was a short pause as the AI sent a call to the police department. Peter decided to look into the purse, checking if anything was stolen. He dug through a few lipsticks and keys but eventually found a wallet and looked inside. It looked virtually intact, and had everything in it; an ID, drivers license, money, gift cards… it looked like nothing was actually stolen. Peter shuddered again.

“The police have been called and should be here in about 10 minutes. They thank you for your service.” Karen said after a few minutes.

“G-great,” Peter managed to stutter out. The AI noticed the change in his voice.

“Is everything alright, Peter?” She asked, and even though she was a robot Peter could hear the small hint of concern in her voice. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Peter choked out. “It’s just… who was that? Why did he steal the purse and the car, but end up not keeping either? Why did he just disappear when I went after him?”

“I don’t know, Peter. I can try looking him up in the databases.”

Peter nodded, hearing police sirens in the distance. A screen recording of the chase flashed in front of his face, rewinding through the footage until it paused on the boy. Peter flinched as he saw that scarred face looking at him again. A green net showed up on it, scanning the boy’s face from top to bottom. To Peter’s shock an error screen showed up.

“Huh,” his AI spoke, trying again. “Something seems to be interfering with the system. I can’t read anything on him.”   


_ It’s as if he doesn’t even exist…  _ Peter thought to himself, the blood running cold in his veins.  _ Was this thing even human?  _

He sat on the rooftop, thinking and trying to calm down until the police arrived. When they did he swung down and met them, giving a quick report and allowing them to take care of the rest. He was relieved when he finally got to the city and was surrounded by lights and the bustling commotion of the night life. He felt a little calmer.

He found the lady quickly, sitting on a bench near where her purse was stolen. Her face lit up when she saw him.

“Thank you, Spider-Man. I don’t know what we’d do without you.” She said as she took back her purse, giving him a friendly smile. Peter gave a weak smile behind his mask and mumbled a quick ‘my pleasure’ before throwing a web and swinging onto the roof of a nearby building. The hairs on his arms had flattened down, but his heart was still beating hard against his rib cage. He knelt down and leaned back on his elbow against the rooftop, taking a few deep breaths.

“Peter, are you sure you’re okay?” Karen chimed in.

“I’m fine now. That was just… a little scary.” He paused, thinking. “Karen, could you call Mr. Stark, please?”

“ _ Calling: Mr. Stark. _ ”

A small screen with a phone appeared in front of Peter’s eyes and a ringing noise sounded in his ear. It rang a few times before answering, and Mr. Stark’s face showed up.

“Hey, Peter, what do you need? I’m kind of busy right now so make it quick.”

“Hi, Mr. Stark, I was just on a chase and… um… is it possible to chase a ghost?”

Mr. Stark screwed up his face in confusion.

“Kid, what? That makes no sense. What do you mean?”

“Well…” Peter started. “I just chased down a bad guy who stole a purse and then later a car, and I followed him into this weird abandoned building, but… when I followed him in he just disappeared.”

A silence filled the air for a few seconds.

“Disappeared?” Mr. Stark said, breaking the silence. “But that’s not-- are you sure you checked?”

Peter nodded.

“Yeah. And there was a lot of fallen rubble too, so he would’ve had to climb over it to get out. But he didn’t, he was just… gone.”

“Did you get a look at his face?”

“Yeah. It was really scarred.”   


“Yikes,” Mr. Stark said, grimacing. “At least you can look him up in the databases now.”

“I did.”

“And?”

“There’s nothing on him. It’s like he doesn’t even exist.”

Mr. Stark looked shocked. 

“That should not be… that doesn’t seem right,” he said, concern lacing his voice. “Meet me at the tower and we’ll figure this out.”

The call ended and Peter was left staring at the sky which was growing increasingly darker. He looked at the side of his suit screen and saw that the time was 8:24. It wasn’t that late since his curfew was 11:00 p.m., but he might not have all his homework done by tomorrow.

_ Oh well,  _ he thought to himself as he got up, throwing a web to the wall of another building and gripping it tightly with both hands.  _ This is more important anyway. _

He pushed off the roof and swung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, now things are gonna get started! First sketchy encounter, but Peter is a teen that won't stop for anything lol. Although it might be more serious than he thinks... enjoy!!


	3. Error

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Tony discuss the events of Peter's chase.

It didn’t take long for Peter to arrive at Stark Tower, probably because his adrenaline was off the charts and the only speed he could go was maximum. With the whole chase still fresh in his mind, he kept looking over his shoulder every few seconds. Even though Peter knew it was ridiculous and nobody could follow him, his Spider-Sense still hadn’t gone down completely, and he trusted that thing with his life.

Sending out a web, he landed shakily in front of the main doors to the Tower. He lifted his arms up to the side to steady himself, subconsciously listening and watching for anyone that might have seen him. Determining that the coast was clear, he slowly reached up and slipped off his mask, feeling the cool air run it’s fingers through his hair. There was a small keypad with a ‘Call’ button pasted on the wall. Peter pressed it and waited until a screen appeared in front of him and a robotic voice spoke up.

“ _What can I help you with?”_

“Its Peter, Peter Parker… I’m here to see Mr. Stark.”

“ _Please move back until you are standing on the white X. I need to scan you before you can come in.”_

Peter stepped back and a green net of light passed over him, scanning him from the bottom up. Once it was done it turned off and the keypad retracted back into the wall. The doors clicked open.

“ _Mr. Stark is on the 80th floor. You may proceed inside, and I will inform him of your arrival.”_

 _80th floor?_ Peter thought to himself while stepping inside. _Damn… I knew Stark Tower was big, but to have_ 80 floors _or more?_

The glass doors shut behind him, creating a hollow echo that rung in the room. Peter looked around, eyeing everything suspiciously. It was dark, and every chair, desk, or pile of clothes looked like a crouching person. Peter shuddered and speed walked over to the elevator, pushing the ‘Up’ button. Thankfully, the elevator came down quickly and saved him from thinking up more ridiculous things and letting his mind run wild with childish imaginations. Peter stepped inside, scanning the elevator with caution; after the whole fiasco back in Washington he wasn’t overly fond of these things, but he wasn’t about to walk up 80 flights of stairs… if stairs even existed in this place.

 _96 floors total_ Peter thought to himself, not sure whether to be impressed or scared. He pressed the round button with the number 80 on it and watched as the doors closed. The elevator began ascending, and out of instinct Peter folded his arms and hugged them closely to his chest.

Having nothing to accompany him but his thoughts, not even cringey elevator music, Peter began to think about the boy with the scarred face. He was something else, and although he appeared human, Peter had a sinking feeling that he wasn’t. His eyes were not natural; they seemed too dry, too… stone-like. Fake. There was something mechanical about them, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. Maybe Mr. Stark would help him figure something out; he hoped so.

The place Peter followed the boy to was also really sketchy. Just as unnatural as him, and Peter wondered what business he could’ve wanted there. And the fact that all he stole was a purse, and even then he didn’t take anything for himself made Peter’s hair stand on end. All of this seemed too elaborate, and he was beginning to suspect it was all a cover up for something bigger. 

_Were… were there any other criminals involved? Or was this part of some organized heist to get me out of town and then rob a store or something?_

Before Peter could come to an answer the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Peter saw Mr. Stark sitting at his desk, typing something on a virtual screen, not noticing him at first. Peter walked out, still pressing his arms to his chest. The elevator doors closed behind him, shutting louder than he was expecting. Mr. Stark looked up from the screen and paused his typing. Peter stood awkwardly to the side, not knowing whether to come in or not. Mr. Stark flicked his hand up and cleared the screen, pressing a few more buttons on his wrist and closing out of a program.

“Don’t be so stiff, Peter, you can come in,” he said with a light tone. He went behind his desk and pulled out a small box, reaching in and sifting through it. “Do you want anything to drink? I have coffee, tea, water, soda…”

“No thank you, I’m… good.” Peter awkwardly stammered out. Mr. Stark’s looked up and eyed Peter suspiciously. Then, he took out a bottle of iced tea and placed it on the table.

“Tea it is.”

He bent down again and took out two glasses, pouring himself and Peter some iced tea. He pulled up a chair and brought it next to Peter, sitting down. He held the glass in front of him.

“Take it, Peter,” he said, his voice gentle and soothing. “You look paler than a ghost and you don’t sound great either. It’ll help, I promise. And I don’t want to have to carry you home after you faint; that would make for some weird explanations.”

Peter cracked a small smile at that last part and took the glass from Mr. Stark, taking a sip. It was sweet and refreshing and he ended up gulping it down quickly, not realizing how thirsty he was. Next to him Mr. Stark nodded and drank his glass too, wiping the side of his mouth with his sleeve when he finished. He turned back to Peter and swung his leg over his knee, leaning back. 

“So,” he started, looking at Peter. “Tell me what happened, from the beginning.”

Peter nodded and began to fidget with his mask.

“I was on patrol and I noticed that some dude in a mask ran by and snatched this lady’s purse. She was really shocked and I started chasing after him, trying to get him to stop but he was so _fast_. Like, almost inhumanly fast. On all the chases I’ve been on I’ve never had to gain on someone so much. 

“He was also really agile; I almost smashed into a wall because he turned really quickly into an alley. I lost him for a few seconds, but I used the suit and it was able to track him. I think that’s when my Spider-Sense activated, and I started to get a really bad feeling, but I didn’t want to turn back. Then, he stole a car and started driving away, but I found a shortcut and managed to catch up to him just as he was getting out of the car. I webbed up his legs and he fell down, and the purse rolled away a few feet to the side. I aimed at it, but I guess he must’ve moved or something because my web got caught on his mask and ripped it off.”

Peter paused for a moment. Mr. Stark said nothing.

“His face looked horrible. His cheek and neck were scarred, and his eyes… they looked so _off._ Mechanical is the best I can describe it.”   
“Mechanical?” Mr. Stark interrupted.

“Yeah,” Peter answered, nodding. 

“What happened afterwards?”

“I think I stared at him for too long because he pulled out a knife and cut my webs, which… shouldn’t have happened. My webs can’t be cut by a knife, so he must’ve used something stronger. Then, he started running to this creepy abandoned factory and I ran in after him, but when I got inside… he was gone. There was rubble everywhere and it was too thick for him to run through that quickly. I checked the walls, the ceiling, but there was no sign of him at all. He just disappeared. I got out of there as quickly as I could and called the police. I waited on top of another building, and I checked the purse.”  
Peter paused, twisting his mask in his hands.

“Nothing was stolen. Everything was there; money, gift cards, drivers license, _everything_. Whoever the thief was didn’t even bother to take anything.”

He finished, looking down at his wrinkled mask. Mr. Stark took a deep breath.

“Okay, that all sounds really suspicious, especially since this guy didn’t finish the job. And the fact that he dragged you out all the way to the outskirts of town for a _purse?_ No normal thief does that.” 

Peter nodded.

“I was thinking that maybe he was leading me out of town so that there could be some more criminal action in town, but I had nothing on the radar, so… I don’t know.”

“I don’t either,” Mr. Stark said, getting up and pressing a few buttons on his desk. A screen flashed and he pressed an icon with a spider on it. More screens came on and Mr. Stark held out his arms, flicking his hands to the side. The screens circled around him and he began to press on a few of them until he pulled up a recording which Peter recognized to be the same video from his suit.

“You can see everything I see through my suit?” Peter asked nervously, thinking back to all the stupid videos he made immitating the other Avengers, and he wondered if Mr. Stark saw them.

“Yeah, I put everything in your suit and I still have access to it,” Mr. Stark answered, smirking when he saw Peter’s expression. “Don’t worry, I don’t look through your stuff. I don’t really care what you do as long as you’re not getting yourself killed.”

Peter let out a small sigh of relief.

Mr. Stark fast-forwarded the video until he found the scene where Peter saw the boy’s face. Peter felt a wave of fear wash over him again and he looked away. Mr. Stark zoomed in on the face, screwing up his face in disgust.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” He spoke to his AI.

“Yes, sir?” 

“Do a face recognition and search on this kid here.”

“Right away, sir!”

There was a moment of silence until the AI spoke up again.

“Sir, I cannot read anything on him. There seems to be something interfering with the system.”

Mr. Stark crossed his arms and cocked his head in confusion.

“Check for any viruses.”

“There’s nothing, sir. Everything is working in perfect order.”

Mr. Stark let out a small ‘hmph’ and walked over to the desk.

“Save this photo to my files. I’ll look into this further.”

He turned to Peter.

“I can’t help you now, but if you come across this person again or anyone else like him, don’t engage.” Peter noticed his voice wavered in concern. “I don’t want you getting hurt. I’ll install something into your suit later tonight, so that if  you need my immediate help or are in danger, you can yell out a word and I’ll be notified of your location and status.”

Mr. Stark reached down and opened a drawer, pulling out a small notepad. He flipped to a clean page and took out a pen from his shirt pocket, clicking it open. 

“Any specific word you want?” He asked, leaning on his elbows. Peter thought for a second.

“Uh, maybe, ‘Stark’?”

“Too obvious, they’ll figure it out immediately. It’s gotta be something random, something that when you say it they’ll be confused. Might buy you a second or two.”

Peter nodded and tried his best to think up a word, but everything that was popping into his head was modern lingo such as ‘yeet’, ‘(wig) snatched’, and ‘tea’, and as much as he wanted to scream ‘yeet’ in the middle of battle, he didn’t want to get weird looks from Mr. Stark.

“I can’t think of anything,” Peter said, feeling heat creeping into his cheeks. Mr. Stark gave him a brisk nod and put away his notepad.

“Okay, don’t worry about it. I’ll pick one for you.” He looked down at his watch and raised his eyebrows. “It’s almost 10:00 and you should probably be getting home. Do you still have homework?”

Peter nodded.

“Of course you do.” Mr. Stark said, rolling his eyes playfully. He got up and patted Peter on the shoulder, giving him a light squeeze and a smile of reassurance. Peter returned the smile. Then, he turned around and made his way back to the elevator. Pressing the ground floor button, started to think about what homework he had for the night, and what he would do tonight and leave for tomorrow. 

The doors closed and he started descending. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I'm so sorry for getting this out so late, I got unexpectedly busy and had no time/motivation to write, but here it is! The next chapter! I'll try to get the next one out quicker this time :) as always, enjoy!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! You got through the first chapter! I have a pretty solid layout of where I'm going to go with this story, and I hope you stay along to see it :) This is my first chapter fic, and I'm going to be experimenting a little bit but I hope you enjoy what I come up with! I'll try to update this every few days (maybe 3-4??) 
> 
> If you liked what you read, please leave some Kudos and comments!! I would really <3 and appreciate it :D


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